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Re. 18,388 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E J BROCK WATER PURIFIER March 22, 1932.

Original Filed May 22, 1926 J. BROCK WATER PURIFIER 2 Sheets-Sheet; 2

March 22, 1932.

Original Filed May 22, 1926 Reissued Mar. 22, 1932 PATENT orricr;

EDWARD J'. BROCK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI WATER PURIFIER Original No.1,794,395, dated March 3; 1931, Serial No. 110,900, filed May 22, 1926.Application for reissue filed August 7, 1931.

This invention relates to water purifiers such as used in conjunctionwith boilers for mechanically removing sediment and impurities in thefeed water before introducing it into the boiler. WVhile features of theinvention may be applied to'steam boilers of different types, in thepresent specification, I have described the invention as applied to alocomotive type of boiler.

The general object of the invention is to provide improved means forfacilitating the deposit of sediment within the purifier; to provideimproved means for removing t Q8 sediment; to provide means forpreventing the formation of air pockets within the purifier which mightinterfere with its effective operation; to provide an improvedconstruction and arrangement of mixing chamber for the hot water fromthe boiler and the cold 29 water admitted to the purifier for treatment;to provide a blow-off in the purifier dome for removing oil, scum, andthe like, floating on the surface of the water; to provide improvedmeans for trapping the air in the purifier dome and automaticallypermitting the escape of the same; to provide a novel construction ofblow-off pipes located in the bottom of the purifier to insure that thesediment will be discharged from the purifier through the length of saidpipes; to provide plurality of blow-off pipes arranged to discharge attheir longitudinal centers, whereby the expulsion of sediment from thepurifier is facilitated; and, finally, the employment of means forpreventing the enlargement of the apertures in the blow-oil pipes, dueto the abrasive action of the sediment passing through the apertures.Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter. v

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which aill be exemplified in the structure hereinafter described. and the scopeof t 12 application of which will be indicated in t in following claims.

in the accompanying drawings, in which is illustratcd one of variouspossible embodiments of the invention,

Serial No. 555,837.

7 Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive type of boiler with apurifier embodying my invention associated therewith, a portion of thepurifier being broken away and shown in to longitudinal section;

Fig. 2' is a view in end elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of the sediment P p Fig. 5 is a bottom planview of a blow-off pipe located in the dome of the purifier;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 66 ofFig. 1, showing my improved construction of mixing chamber;

Fig. 7 illustrates a modified construction in which the air trapped inthe dome of the purifier passes directly to the steam dome of theboiler; and, v

Fig. 8 shows a section in side elevation of one of the blow-off pipeshaving nipples secured in the apertures to prevent enlargement of thelatter.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

Referring more particularly to the parts, numeral 1 represents a boilerwhich may be of a locomotive type, alongside of which my purifier 2 ismounted. This purifier consists of an elongated shell, the longitudinalaxis of which is supported in a substantially horizontal position belowthe water level of the boiler. The righthand end of the purifier is theinlet end and receives water from the boiler through a connection 8(Fig. 6) and coupling 4, through which latter extends a feed. water pipe5. The coupling d is provided on the side adjacent the connection 3 witha flange 6 (Fig. 6) and is preferably connected to the connection 3 bybeing-bolted, as at 7 to a metal plate 8 screwed on the end of theconnection. At its lower end, the coupling is provided with a flange 9which is bolted, as at 10, to a casting 11 riveted on the top of thepurifier 2 near one end thereof. The coupling 4 is provided with athroat 12 communicating with the connection 3 and water from the boilerto the purifier without an abrupt change in its course, thus reducingthe friction. The feed water pipe 5 extends to near the lower end of thethroat 12, but

terminates within the throat, so that as the cold feed water isdischarged from the lower end of this pipe, it tends to produce a siphonefiect and to withdraw the hot water from the boiler and thus promotethe circulation of the same with the cold water through the purifier.The throat 12 also afiords a mixing chamber for the hot and cold water.This arrangement also avoids an objection incident to certain priorconstructions in that in the latter, the outlet passage to the purifier2 would very frequently become clogged by deposits from the waterentering through the pipe 5. In the construction described and shown inFig. 6, a free passage of relatively large diam eter is provided for thepassage of the water into the shell 2, and this passage will beautomatically kept clean by the flow of the water into the shell.Further, the lower end of the pipe 5 extends to near the opening 13 ofthe shell. This opening is preferably made of considerably largerdiameter than the pipe 5, so that the feed water, which contains most ofthe impurities, will tend to pass directly from pipe 5 into the purifierthrough said opening without affordingv opportunity for impuritiestherein to deposit on the wall of the throat.

The connection 3 to theboiler should be made over the crown-sheet,indicated in dotted lines, as this is the point where the greatest heatin this type of boiler is being received by the water within the boiler.This is exemplary of the connection which should be made to any typeofboiler, namely, at the point of greatest heating.

e The purifier 2 is preferably formed 'insections, the presentconstruction involving a central section 15 and two end sectionstelescoped into the ends of the central section and indicated by thenumerals 16 and 17 respectively.

The water passes from the throat 12 down onto a longitudinally inclined'bafiie 18, which is preferably set at an angle of approximately 22, andwhich prevents the incoming water from agitating the water and sedimentwithin the purifier and also causes the water to have a longer course oftravel. On the bottom of the shell of the purifier, I preferably providetWo baflies or bafiie plates, the one, indicated by the numeral 19,being located toward the feed end of the purifier, and

the other, 20, being located centrally of the purifier. These bafliestend to prevent or to interrupt circulation along the bottom 21 of thepurifier, so that the sediment will accu mulate and deposit on saidbottom. In order to discharge the sediment from the purifier 2, Iprovide two or more sediment discharge pipes 22 and'23, respectively,the discharge pipe 22 extending from a point adjacent to the baffleplate 20 to a point near the right hand end of the purifier, as shown inFig. 1,

and the discharge pipe 23 extending from a point adjacent the baflieplate 20 to a point near theleft hand end of the purifier. Each of thesesediment discharge pipes 22 and 23 is closed at its opposite ends bycaps 24 and is provided along its bottom with perforations, later to bereferred to. Each of these pipes is preferably formed in two sectionsconnected centrally to a T-coupling 25, and to each of these couplingsis connected an outlet pipe 26 and 27, respectively, which connect attheir lower ends to a main blow-ofi' pipe 28. Each of the connections 26and 27 is provided with its individual valve 29, which enable the twosediment pipes to be blown out independently if desired. Thisarrangement per mitsthe use of pipes of relatively small size,

, which are convenient and economical to operate. Moreover, when thesection of the purifier on one side of the baffle plate 20 is blown out,this operation does not disturb the sediment in the other part of thepurifier.

On the upper side of the purifier and projecting downwardly into theinterior at preferably an angle of. approximately 47, I provide a battleplate 30 near the outlet end of the purifier, which operates to retardthe circulation along the upper part of the purifier and to increase theextent of the circulation. Between the baffle plate 20 and the end orhead 31 of the purifier, I provide an outlet standpipe 32, having itsmouth 33 disposed atan elevation within the purifier; that is to say,the mouth 33 is very close to the upper wall of the purifier, so thatsubstantially only clear soft water will enter this standpipe. The pipe32 is vertical and is connected at its lower end to a standard coupling84, which connects with the end of a pipe 35 leading into the bottom ofthe boiler, this construction providing a passage through which thetreated water is led from the purifier into operate to automaticallyrelease air from the vicinity of the mouth 33 to an air, oil andsediment trap 37 which I provide on the upper side of the purifier backof the baffie 30. The by-pass connection 36 is connected to the shellover the top of the stand-pipe 32 and communicates with the trap 37through the side thereof at a point preferably about midway of itsheight. The trap 37, due to the high temperature in thepurifier,operates to trap any air, oil and sediment moving along the upper sideof the shell of the purifier, as will be understood. In order to providefor releasing air which may accumulate in this trap, I provide,according to one construction, a release valve 38 of any suitableconstruction, provided with a float 39, or any other similar device,which operates to hold the valve closed so long as water is at theproper level in the trap, but permits the-valve to open and release theair when the water level in the trap drops below a predetermined point,due to accumulation of air in the trap.

In Fig. 7, I show another means of releasing the air from the trap 37,which consists in running a pipe 40 from the top of said trap to thesteam dome 41 of the boiler. In this construction, the air is alwaysfree, to escape from the trap.

The sediment pipes 22 and 23 are provided, as previously stated, withperforations, and these are preferably located on the underside only ofthe pipes and extend throughout their length. When either or bothof thevalves 29 are opened, the pressure existing within the water purifierwill force the sediment out through the perforations and through theiroutlet connections 26 and 27. The character of these perforations isindicated in Fig. 4. These perforations are formed so that they are of asize or diameter which increases in a direction extending away from theoutlet connection; in other Words, the perforations 42, which are at ornear the remote end of the pipe, are of much larger diameter than theperforations 43, which. lie adjacent to the outlet connection. Accordingto this invention, the size of the openings in the pipes 22 and 23 issuch that their total area will equal the area of the outlet pipes 26and 27, allowance being made also for friction. This arrangement insuresthat the sediment will be discharged substantially equally into all.parts of the sediment pipes, as it will be obvious that if theperforations were of the same size, the majority of the sediment would pass through the open ings adjacent the outlet pipes, while practicallyno sediment would pass through the openings towards the ends of thepipe. This objection is overcome by my arrangement, as explained, sothat when the valves are open, the sediment is removed from the bottomof the purifier throughout its entire length, as

the entire length of each of the sediment pipes is rendered effectivefor this purpose.

It is not necessary, however, that these perforations should each be ofa different size from the others, but it is more convenient in practiceto form them in sets of the same diameter, there being one set ofsmallest diameter, another set of largest diameter, and an intermediateset corresponding to the perforation 44, which is of an intermediatediameter. The baffle 19 is provided with an opening 45 (Fig. 3) throughwhich the sediment pipe 22 may extend. As shown by Fig. 3, this battleis preferably made in three connected sections and is connected to thesides of the purifier by means of brackets 46 riveted to the outersection of the plates and to the shell of the purifier, as shown. Thisis likewise true of the baffles 18 and 30, and the sectionalconstruction of these battles and their location permits them-to bedetached and removed through one or the other of the handholes 47,located at opposite ends of the purifier, for repairs.

In practice it is found that most of the sedimentaccumulates in theinlet end of the purifier, and, therefore, an outlet connection 26 mustbe opened much more frequently than the outlet connection 27. The baffleplate 20 facilitates the operation of blowing out one end of thepurifier, as to tends to prevent the disturbanceof the sediment in theopposite end. This bafiie, therefore, performs a function in thisrespect in addition to its other function of tending to facilitate thedeposit of sediment in the inlet end of the purifier. The baflie l9directs the circulation to the top of the shell and, to a large extent,prevents the sediment in the bottom of the shell from being stirred upand afi'ords, therefore, a quiet zone and ample space in which theimpurities may settle out of the water. The baffle 30, of course,prevents the direct flow of the water along the top of the purifierthrough the outlet 33 of stand-pipe 32, and by directing the circulationdownward, tends to cause the impurities, which are heavier than thewater, to pass to and settle on the bottom of the purifier, so that onlyrelatively. pure water will rise and pass into the mouth 33;

The surface of the water in the trap 37 will, after a time, be coveredwith scum, oil and the like, and in order to remove this, I provide asurface blow-off, which is illustrated in bottom plan view in Fig. 5.This blowoff is in the form of a pipe 48 which, at one end, as shown byFig. 1, is connected to the blow-off pipe 27 below the valve 29, and atits upper end, has a horizontalextension entering the side of the trap37 near the top thereof, and there bent to substantially encircle theinterior of said trap, its outer end be ing closed by a cap 49. Thecircular portion of thisblow-off pipe within the trap is indicated bythe numeral 50 and its underside is space.

provided with a series of apertures 51, which decrease in diameter, asshown, from the outer end containing the cap 49 to the entrance point ofthe pipe 48. The total area of the apertures 51 is made to equal thearea. of the pipe 48, allowance being made for friction, and in thisway, all of the apertures in the blow-01f portion 50 are effective inremoving scum from the surface of the water in the trap. This action, ofcourse, occurs whenever the valve 18a in pipe 48 is opened.

'I have described the sediment ipes 22 and 23 as having apertures.PreferaEly, in order to prevent these apertures from being enlarged byabrasion of the sediment passing through them, I provide each of theapertures with a nipple 52, preferably of hard ened steel, which arepreferably screwed into the apertures and the bores of which would havethe same diameter as the apertures if the latter are used without thenipples. These nipples, when worn by abrasion, can be readily removedand new nipples substituted in their place. In this way, the life of thesediment pipes may be very greatly increased and their action maintaineduniform. WVithout the use of these nipples, the apertures in thesediment pipes soon become so enlarged that new sediment pipes must besubstituted for the old ones at such frequent intervals as to render itquite an item of expense. Further, these nipples extend down to thebottom of the shell of the purifier, so that more of the sediment isremoved therefrom in the blowing out process than when the perforationsalone are employed, as it is impracticable to locate the sediment pipesclose enough to the bottom to meet this requirement. Y j

The purifier, in practice, is set at an incline, so that its outlet endis slightly higher than the inlet end in order to facilitate the passageof air along the top of the purifier to the air trap'37. The scale ofthe drawings relative to the actual size of the purifier, namely abouttwenty feet, isvery small, and as the inclination is very slight suchinclination ivoa'ld scarcely be perceptible to the eye, and-no attempthas been made to illustrate it. I desire to state the fact, however, inthe interest of a full disclosure of the invention.

The length of the auxiliary purifier drum as assembled should be longenough to in sure complete precipitation, as shown by the proportions inthe drawings. In order to accomphsh the proportions shown, it will benoted that the purifier drum is arranged with its axis parallel to theaxis of the boiler to which it is attached. Thus the proper length ofthe purifier can be eifected without sacrificing an excessive amount offloor This construction permits the purifier drum to be put close to theboiler.

The addition of the purifier to a boiler results in a reduction ofboiler strains ordithe several objects of the invention are J achievedand other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim: I

1. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having aninlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and anoutlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, saidshell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantiallyhorizontal position, a vented air-dome adjacent one end of said shell onthe upper side thereof, a battle extending down from the upper side ofthe shell between the outlet connection and the airdome and to a pointbelow the outlet connection, a pipe connection through the upper side ofthe shell between the battle and the end of the shell and leading intothe alrat the other end of the shell, said shell being disposed with itslongitudinal axis in a substantially horizontal position, an air-domeadjacent one end of said shell on the upper sidethereof, a battleextending down from the upper side of the shell between the out letconnection and the air-dome, a pipe connection through the upper side'ofthe shell between the bafiie and the end of the shell and leading intothe air-dome, said lastnamed connection operating to conduct air fromthe end of the'shell into the air-dome, a sediment blow-off pipecommunicating with the interior of the purifier, a surface blow-offlocated in said dome and havinga valve-controlled pipe communicatingwith said sediment blow-01f pipe, and means whereby said air-dome may beevacuated.

3. In a water purifier, the comblnation of an elon ated shell having aninlet connectionfor boiler water and feed water at one end, and anoutlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, saidshell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantiallyhorizontal position, an airdome adjacent one end of said shell on theupper side thereof, a baffle extending down from the upper side of theshell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a pipe connectionthrough the upper side of the shell between the bafi'le and the end ofthe shell and leading into the air-dome, said last-named connectionoperating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the airdome, asediment blow-ofl pipe communicating with the interior of the purifier,a surface blow-off located in said dome and having a valve-controlledpipe communicating with said sediment blow-oif pipe, said surfaceblow-ofi' comprising a curved pipe having a closed end and provided onits underside with perforations of progressively increased size in adirection toward said closed end and the total area of said perforationsequalling the area of said valvecontrolled pipe, plus allowance forfriction and means whereby said air-dome may be evacuated.

4. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having aninlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and anoutlet connection to the boiler at the other end of the shell, saidshell being disposed with its longitudinal axis in a substantiallyhorizontal position, an air-dome adjacent one end of said shell on theupper side thereof, a bafile extending down from the upper side of theshell between the outlet connection and the air-dome, a pipe connectionthrough the upper side of the shell between the bafile and the end ofthe shell and leading into the air-dome, said lastnamed connectionoperating to conduct air from the end of the shell into the air-dome,and a float-controlled release valve mounted in the top of said dome.

5. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, thecombination of an elongated shell, a connection, including a feed waterpipe, at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler tointroduce a mixture of boiler water and feed water into the end of thepurifier, a baffle plate connected to the upper portion of the shelladjacent said end directly under the outlet from said connection to thepurifier and directed downwardly and toward the said end, a baffle platein the lower portion of said shell adjacent said end and directedupwardly and toward the other end of the purifier, an outlet pipeleading from the other end of the purifier into the boiler and havingits inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier at an elevated leveltherein, a bafile plate in the upper portion of the shell adjacent thesaid outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within the shell, the lastmentioned baffle plate being adapted to lengthen the path of circulationof the water moving toward said outlet pipe, a sediment pipe disposed inthe bottom of the shell having an outlet connection through the shell,and a valve for controlling the same.

6. In a water purifier, the combination of an elongated shell having aninlet connection for boiler water and feed water at one end, and anoutlet connection to the boiler at the other end, and disposed with thelongitudinal axis of the shell in a substantially horizontal position, asediment pipe disposed at the bottom of the shell toward one end of thesame, and having an outlet connection through the sheil, a secondsediment pipe disposed toward the other end of the shell and having anoutlet connection through the shell, an individual valve correspondingto each sediment pipe enabling either sediment pipe to be operatedindependently of the other, a baflie plateat the outlet end of theshell, another baffle plate on'the bottom of the shell at the inlet endthereof, and a third baflie plate at the bottom of the shell disposedbetween the ends of the sediment pipes.

7. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, thecombination of an elongated shell, a connection including a feed waterpipe at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introducea mixture of boiler water and feed water directly into the end of thepurifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier intothe boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier atan elevated level therein, a baffle plate in the upper portion of theshell adjacent the said outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within theshell, said baffle forming with the end of the shell a pocket inclosingthe inlet mouth of said pipe, a sediment pipe disposed inthe bottom ofthe shell having perforations along its length to admit the sediment,said sediment pipe having an outlet connection through the shell and avalve for controlling the same, a vented air dome and means adapted tocause air to escape from said pocket, comprising a pipe connectionoutside of the shell between said pocket and said dome and means forautomatically opening the vent of said air dome when the liquid level insaid dome is below apredetermined point. i

8. In a water purifier to operate in conjunction with a boiler, thecombination of an elongated shell, a connection including a feed waterpipe at one end of the shell and connecting with the boiler to introducea mixture of boiler water and feed water directly into the end of thepurifier, an outlet pipe leading from the other end of the purifier intothe boiler and having its inlet mouth in the interior of the purifier atan elevated level therein, a baifie plate in the upper portion of theshell adjacent the said outlet pipe and projecting downwardly within theshell, said bafiie forming with the end of the shell a pocket inclosingthe inlet mouth of said pipe, a sediment pipe disposed in the bottom ofthe shell adjacent one end thereof, a sec- 011d sediment pipe disposedin the bottom of the shell toward the other end thereof, each ofsaidsediment pipes having an outlet connection through the shell and a valvefor controlling the same, and also having perforations along its lengthto admit the sediment, an air dome having a vent and means adapted tocause air to escape from said pocket, into said dome comprising aconnection from said pocket to said dome, said connection being outsideof the shell and automatic means for opening said vent from time totime.

9. In a water purifier for a boiler, the combination of an elongated,substantially horizontal shell having means for directly introducing hotboiler water at one end, means for directly introducing feed water atsaid end, an outlet connection to the boiler from said shell at theother end and having itsmouth in an elevatedposition within said shell,a raised dome on said shell between the ends, a baflie located on theshell between said outlet .connection and said dome consideredlengthwise and extending to a point below the outlet connection, and apipe connecting the shell on the outlet side of the baflle and the dome,said dome having a vent adapted to release excessive amounts of air fromthe dome; 1

10. In a water purifier for a boiler, the combination of an elongated,substantially horizontal shell having an inlet connection at one end fordirectly introducing boiler water, means for directly introducing feedwater at said end, an outlet connection to the boiler,

from said shell at the other end and having its mouth in an elevatedposition within said shell, a raised, automatic air release on saidshell, a bafiie located on the shell between said outlet connection andsaid air release and extending to a point below the outlet connection,and a connection between the shell on theoutlet side of the baffle andthe air release, thesaid connection joining the air release-at a. pointother than the point of connection of the air release to the shell.

11. In a water purifier for a boiler, the combination of an elongatedand substantially horizontal shell having a direct inlet connection forboiler water at one end, means for directly introducing feed water withsaid boiler Water, an outlet connection to the boiler from the other endof said shell and having its mouth at an elevated position in the shell,a dome on said shell having an air release, a baflle located on theshell between said outlet connection and said dome considered lengthwiseand extending to a point below the outlet connection, a connectionbetween the shell on the outlet side of the baflie and the dome onsaidshell, said connection being outside of said shell.

12. In a water purifier for a boiler having a dome, the combination ofan elongated shell having a direct inlet connection for boiler water atone end, means for directly introducing feed water with saidboilerwater, an outlet connection to the boiler from the other end of saidshell, a dome on said shell, a battle located on the shell between saidoutlet connection and said dome considered lengthwise, a connectionbetween the shell at the outlet side of the baflleand the dome on saidshell, said connection being outside of said shell, and a connectionbetween the dome on the shell and the dome on the boiler.

13. In a water purifier for a boiler, the combination of an elongated,substantially horizontally positioned shell having an inlet and anoutlet, the outlet end of the shell being slightly raised with respectto the inlet end so as to drive entrapped air to said outlet end, meansfor introducing hot boiler water at the inlet end, means for introducingfeed water at said end, a dome onthe shellnearthe outlet end, an airconnection between the shell adjacent said outlet and leading to thedome and a bafiie depending from the top of the shell between the domeandsaid air connection, said :bafile extending downwardly to a pointbelow the point of connection ofsaid outlet to said shell.

In Witness whereof, I have signed my name to the foregoingspecification.

EDWARD J. BROCK.

